Slide action electrical switches, intended particularly for automotive service, have been disclosed and claimed in prior U.S. patents, assigned to the assignee of the present application. Such prior U.S. patents include Bedocs U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,462,564, issued Aug. 19, 1969; Raab 3,721,779, issued Mar. 20, 1973; Raab and Cobb 3,942,555, issued Mar. 9, 1976; Raab and Halstead 4,054,761, issued Oct. 18, 1977; Raab 4,126,153, issued Nov. 21, 1978; Raab and Halstead 4,251,698, issued Feb. 17, 1981; and Halstead and Black 4,448,390, issued May 15, 1984. In several of these prior patents, the disclosed slide action electrical switches are combined with fluid control devices, such as vacuum control valves or switches
The present invention relates to important improvements in slide action electrical switches of the general construction disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. patents. A slide action switch of such general construction includes fixed contact plates or bars having fixed contact portions which are slidably engageable by at least one movable contactor, usually mounted on a movable insulating carriage. The contact plates are typically mounted on an insulating wall or board in a casing having means for guiding the movement of the carriage. Typically, the contact plates are secured to the insulating wall by means of rivets. The use of rivets complicates the assembly of such switches and adds to the cost of such assembly.
One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved slide action electrical switch in which the contact plates and the casing are constructed and arranged to securely retain and accurately locate the contact plates in the casing, without the use of any rivets or other fasteners, so that the assembly of the switch is greatly facilitated, while the cost of the switch is significantly reduced.
In some slide action electrical switches, it becomes desirable to provide a crossover between two of the contact plates, without any electrical connection between the plates. This general problem has been dealt with in a very limited manner in the slide action electrical switch disclosed in the above-mentioned Raab U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,153, in which a bridging flange 130 is bent downwardly from the contact plate 112, so as to provide an electrical connection between the contact portions 112A and 112B, while avoiding any electrical contact with the contact portion 111B on the adjacent plate 111. In this construction, the bridging flange 130 takes up considerable room and is not conducive to a compact switch construction. Moreover, the provision of the bridging flange is complex and costly, so that this construction has a limited usefulness.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved slide action electrical switch, having a new and improved crossover construction, whereby crossovers can be effectuated between the contact plates, without any electrical contact therebetween, at virtually any desired location or situation, yet at low cost and with a high degree of compactness.